Beneath the Surface
by Elsebeth Kindri
Summary: Miranda is a troubled girl. She's given up, but will someone be there to save her before it's too late? AU Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything you recognize from the movies.

* * *

><p><strong>BENEATH THE SURFACE<strong>

Miranda headed straight for the library at the end of the last period of the day just like she had every day since she started school. Every day at the end of the last period of school she would start feeling as if her head was going to explode. She wanted silence.

There was no doubt that she loved school. But the very existence of other people irritated her. She had been driven to the limit more than once throughout her short life, and now she was no more than 20 years of age. Every scar that the black, long-sleeved shirts she usually wore hid, were proof of a life in constant torment. A life lived in constant fear because of words. And she had considered words to be her best friends. But sometimes the words turn against you if someone who thinks he, or she, is something more than you, uses them against you. Every single cut on Miranda's arms represented those kinds of words. The words used to hurt. Hence, she reached out for the solitude that only the library could provide. It was the only place where the words didn't reach out for her.

Growing up in a California could have been every girl's dream. But dreams are easily crushed. One wrong move, one wrong word. Even having too much to eat can crush your dreams into pieces. Miranda's dreams were crushed. Ever since she was a child, she had dreamed about becoming a writer, and she still pursued her dream. But her dream had been crushed. Yet she still chose to pursue it. It was all that kept her above water. It kept her from drowning.

"Good afternoon Miranda," the librarian greeted her as she walked through the doors of the library.

"Good afternoon Ms. Thomas. How are you?" Miranda replied with a smile. Ms. Thomas answered and smiled before going back to work.

Miranda headed straight for the back of the library, ready to get lost in the world of fiction and make-believe. She left the library four hours later, just as the library was closing. Going home didn't seem like an option at the time, so she walked in the opposite direction.

Just after Miranda's eleventh birthday, her father had run off with another woman. Miranda was left with her mother and her two younger brothers. A year later, her brothers had been killed in a hit and run accident involving illegal street racing. That was the start of her depression. It was the beginning of a state of intense sadness, melancholia and despair both for her mother and herself. Her mother tried to go on, but the deaths of her youngest children took its toll on her. In a way, Miranda was left alone with no one to really talk to, no one to receive support from.

So, going home didn't seem like an option at the end of a terrible day at school. Miranda would walk around the city without any destination, and her gaze always lowered to the ground as she simply placed one foot in front of the other. Wandering around aimlessly became a new hobby of hers, but normally it resulted in her coming home to eat a late dinner before managing to persuade her mother into taking a shower after eating and then getting her to sleep. Every day was the same. Get up in the morning, make breakfast for both of them, prepare a lunch for her mother, leave for school, go to the library, go for a walk, go home, make dinner, and get her mother to take a shower before going to bed. Every day was the same.

Miranda found comfort in her books, but some times, or rather most of the time, it wasn't enough. Chocolate and ice cream soon followed. They would make her feel better for a short period of time. A bite of a chocolate would make her world explode in colours as she devoured it. But as soon as she had finished eating it, she felt as bad as always. Each piece of chocolate… each spoonful of ice cream reminded her of all the words the met during the day. The words that never ceased to reach her. Just as every scar on her arms never ceased to remind her, the chocolate and ice cream did the same. Every single day was the same. Every day was bad memories being revived.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own anything you recognize from the movies.

* * *

><p>"Mama? I'm home," Miranda unlocked the door to the small apartment she lived in together with her mother and walked in. The apartment wasn't much. It was barely big enough for two people. It consisted of a kitchen combined with a living room, a small bathroom and a bedroom. The furniture was scarce, worn and had seen better days somewhere in the late 1930s.<p>

Miranda called out again but there was no answer. After locking the door, she continued down the short hallway that led to the living room.

"Mama? Are you awake?" she asked as she spotted her mother in one of the chairs in front of the TV. Her mother continued to stare at the flashing TV. "Mama? Are you alright?" Miranda kneeled beside the chair before reaching out and touching her hand. Her mother looked at her with disgust shining through her eyes as she raised her hand and gently patted her daughter's cheek.

Miranda stared at her mother before pulling away from her touch and hurrying out into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Her mother followed.

"How was school?" Miranda turned around and faced her mother after hearing her mother's shockingly and surprisingly soft voice from the doorway.

"School was fine, as always," Miranda simply answered as she reached for the pan to prepare dinner. But as she turned back to the stove, she got the feeling and sensed that something was wrong.

"Got any homework?" her mother suddenly inquired as she walked into the kitchen and sat down by the kitchen table.

"I did them at the library after school," Miranda answered over her shoulder, trying to not infuriate her mother.

"You spend far too much time in that library," her mother stated as she started tapping her fingers against the kitchen table.

"Mama… don't…"

"It's the truth. It's not healthy for you. You should go out more, meet people," her mother continued as she stared at her daughter's back.

"Well that is kind of difficult, don't you think? Besides, I've got you to take care of. And I enjoy it," Miranda tried to lie to get away from the bomb that was about to explode.

"No you don't. No child likes taking care of a parent"

"Will you stop it?" Miranda exclaimed and slammed a plate down in front of her mother. "I know what I like to do, so I do it. And will you please stop pestering me about it?" she sighed and sat down on the other side of the table.

"I'm sorry dear," her mother answered as she looked at her. Her voice shone with malice.

"Just leave my life alone, Mama. That's all I ask of you," Miranda stated with a heavy sigh before standing back up and continued cooking.

"I just want what's best for you, and you know that," her mother continued, clearly not wanting to stop what was about to start.

"Yea? Well you have a funny way of showing it. It's weird Mama, today is the first day that you haven't said anything about my looks… oh now I remember… it's my fucking birthday, that's why you decided to give me a break, ain't it?"

"You know that I only want what's best…"

"Oh will you stop it with the bullshitting? I know you want to say it! Don't stop acting like everything's great and grand. Cause it's not. You have no idea what I've had to go through Mama, and every time I try talking to you about it, you don't listen. I'm tired of it all. Ever since Sam and Jonah died you've completely changed. You're no longer what I look upon as my mother. I stopped looking at you as my mother a long time ago. You've never been there for me, you've locked yourself in your own little perfect world and you've shut me out, and I'm sick and tired of being your slave," and with that, Miranda sent her mother a look that could have melted glass. She grabbed her wallet from the counter and her sweater from the chair and rushed to the door.

The sun was about to set as Miranda made her way away from the apartment building she lived in. She headed down the street towards one of the local marts. The exited the mart with a bag of what seemed to be the only thing that could comfort her… chocolate. As she passed through the door, she bumped into a group of people heading inside.

"I'm sorry," she muttered trying to ignore the comments tossed her way. Comments like "watch it fatso" and "there should be a law against people like you". She tightened her hold on the bag of chocolates and headed away from the mart as her tears threatened to fall. She headed over to one of the playgrounds and sat down on a swing, trying to regain control over herself.

**Meanwhile, across the street**

For the past three months, at the exact time of day, Mia Toretto had seen a lone girl walk up and down the street in front of the small café she ran. The same had happened that very same day, but now, she spotted the same girl over by the playground not far from the café. Something wasn't right.

"Dom, that girl's here again," she called over her shoulder in the direction of where her brother was situated.

"So what if she is? Maybe she knows someone down the street or something like it? I don't see why you're so obsessed with the girl," Dom grumbled back without turning as Letty wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"I'm not obsessed with her. I'm just wondering why she's here. And there's something about her, Dom. Something doesn't seem right," Mia sighed and walked out from behind the counter and over to the doorway and looked across the street.

"Don't worry so much about strangers, Mia, besides, maybe she's a freak? Just look at her. She's obviously not right in the head," Vince muttered from behind her as he walked up to her and looked out at the girl.

"VINCE! You better watch your mouth!" Mia exclaimed and spun around to glare at him and smacked him on the head with a spatula. She was about to bring her hand up and give him another twack but he pushed past her and surprisingly he started walking in the girl's direction.

"HEY YOU! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Vince yelled at Miranda as he started running towards her. Miranda looked up and stared at the man that was heading towards her with a shocked look on her face. Why was he yelling at her? She quickly pulled her sleeves down over her arms.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own anything from the movies.

* * *

><p>Please read and review...<p>

* * *

><p>Miranda stared at the man who was practically running in her direction. She clutched the bag in her hand as she let the object she had been holding in her other hand drop to the ground, burying it in the sand beneath the swing. She pulled the arms of the dark long sleeved shirt down over her arms and pulled her sweater over her head.<p>

"You better not be doing what you think I'm going," the man yelled at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about;" she answered and got up to leave. He grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him. "Let go of me, man. I don't know who you are, but you should let go of my arm or…" she got in his face. Her eyes were set ablaze as she stared at the man in front of her.

Vince tightened his grasp on her arm and she winched. He stared down at the girl standing in front of him. She wasn't like most girls that hung around the neighborhood. As she stared back at him, anger clearly radiating from her, he couldn't help but smirk. She was the complete opposite of the girls that usually hung around. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, she wore baggy and worn jeans and her sweater was at least three sizes too big. It was as if she was trying to hide herself. And her eyes… even if their color was hidden… he could make out a faint glow of blue. Tears filled her eyes and were close to falling as she tugged lightly on her arm to get him to let go and he snapped back to reality.

"We don't need people like you around here, causing problems and shit. What you were doing will only cause the cops to show up, and we don't want that," he growled down at her.

"I wasn't doing anything wrong!" she practically screamed at him as she tried to pull away from him. He yanked the sleeve of her sweater and the sleeve of her shirt up and revealed a bloody and still bleeding arm.

"Oh yeah! What's this then?" he tightened his grasp on her arm and she yelped.

"What I do, ain't none of your business, so let go of my arm you fuck!" she screamed and suddenly slammed her heel down onto his foot, causing him to yelp and let go of her. She ran.

"Damn it Vince, you always try to charm your way into anyone's lives, don't you," Mia growled from behind him, causing him to jump in surprise. The growl could have given him competition. Mia walked past him and looked in the direction the girl had run.

"FUCK!" he yelled and groaned. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Mia to see if she had any idea what to do.

"Oh no, V, this is your mess. You tidy it up," Mia hissed. Even if she was worried about the girl, Mia sensed it would be right by her to send Vince after the girl. She passed him and started walking back to the café where Dom and Letty were standing in the doorway. But before passing Vince, she slapped him. The sting of Mia's slap seemed to knock him back to reality and he sighed before heading in the direction where he had seen the girl run.

The cuts on Miranda's arm had been deeper than she thought, and it slowed her down. She had been fleeing for almost half an hour and she felt light-headed. By cutting she had been able to reach a certain peek in her everyday life, and it felt good. For a short period of time, everything seemed as if it was in balance, even if it wasn't. Her fleeing brought her down to the beach where she let herself drop to the sand and just try to catch her breath. Her hand throbbed and so did her head. But the pain was sweet. Like a temptation she just wanted to wrap herself around. She didn't want to let go.

Vince stared at the girl as she sat on the sand with a slight smile on her face. The sand in front of her had been tainted deep red because of the blood still flowing. His brow wrinkled and he walked down to her. She was completely oblivious to his presence as he grabbed a rag from his pocket. He had placed it there to use as he worked on one of the cars at the garage, but he never got that far so it was still clean. She closed her eyes as he took hold of her arm and wrapped it in the rag to stop the blood from flowing before fishing his cell out of his other pocket and dialing Mia's number.

"Hey Mia? Think you could come down to the beach? And bring your nurse stuff," he muttered into the phone. Five minutes later, she showed up and hurried down to the couple sitting on the sand.

"How is she?" she inquired as she looked at the girl.

"She hasn't said anything. She's acting all weird and shit," he answers with a shrug. "I think she's lot a bit too much blood or something like that," he motioned to the blood covering the sand between the girl and himself.

"V! Why didn't you call 911?" she raged before delivering another slap, this time to the back of his head.

"Cause I don't want to be involved with the cops, Mia!" he hissed back as he reached up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I doubt she needs to go to the hospital, but we can't leave her here," she muttered and waved her hand in front of the girl's face. "She's completely out of it," she continued before standing back up.

"Yo! Girl!" Vince snapped his fingers in front of her face. The girl blinked and looked at him. "Get up," he then ordered more gently before he slowly helped her stand. Her eyes never left him. She watched the man who led her to a car. There was something about him that suddenly felt comforting.

On the way over to the Toretto household, the girl almost fell asleep. Vince couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Where are we going to place her, Mia?" he asked Mia as she parked.

"We'll place her in Let's old room. I don't see her ever using it again," Mia answered without a thought. They got out of the car and Vince nearly dragged the girl along. He managed to get her up the stairs and Mia changed her out of the bloody sweater and shirt and tugged one of her own big nightshirts over the nearly sleeping girl's head and tucked her in.

As Mia walked down the stairs, the rest of the Team came walking in through the door. She quickly informed them about what was going on.

"Yet another stray dog," Letty stated with a laugh as she ruffled Jesse and Leon's hair, reminding them that they were once stray dogs showing up on the doorstep. Dom smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close as he watched a distraught Jesse try to re-do his hair.

"Jesse, I don't see why you bother, it's never gonna look nice no matter what you do to it," Leon roared and caught Jesse's head in a head-wrap and rubbed his knuckles against the younger guy's head.

"Will you two cut it out already," Mia laughed and started preparing dinner.

Jesse sat by the kitchen table at three in the morning. He had tried to sleep, but a heated discussion about car engines earlier that evening had caused his ADD to act up. He clearly remembered the day he was diagnosed. He had been allowed to read the notes the doctor had made because he couldn't make out what the doctor was explaining.

'_Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is sometimes referred to as ADD for those without hyperactivity. ADD is thought to be a neurological disorder, always present from childhood, which manifests itself with symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, poor impulse control and distractibility'_.

The message had been one of the few things he actually managed to remember. The words became a part of him. They explained what he was.

He felt restless and there was nothing he wanted more than to go to the garage and work on the engine he had discussed together with Leon. And of course, he could have worked on the construction of the engine on his laptop, but because of being in a heated discussion about the next race night, he had forgotten to bring it with him back from the garage. He tapped his fingers against the kitchen table to have somewhere to put his hands as he took deep breaths to try to calm down. He hated what he was, what was wrong with him and he wanted to be normal. Even if he had accepted and been accepted for who he was.

As he sat by the table, he let his thoughts drift to the girl Mia and Vince had brought with them. Who was she?

Miranda blinked as she slowly woke up. Her head throbbed and it felt as if it was going to explode. Looking up at the ceiling, she tried to remember what had happened but everything was a blur. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was sitting on a swing with the blade pressed against her arm. She remembered seeing a man heading towards her, but everything after that was a blur. She remembered feeling tired, like there had been something pulling her down. And as she tried to resist it, the grip on her had tightened and pulled harder.

And now… she was… here. But where was here? She felt too tired to move; too tired to call out to see if there was anyone around. Somehow, she figured the man who had been walking towards her had something to do with it all. Her thoughts drifted to the man as she closed her eyes again and let sleep come over her again. She was too exhausted to try to figure out what was going on but there was something about the place that made her feel at home. Like as if there was someone watching over her, even if there was no one there. The house made her feel like she was home.

Letty woke up as the door to the basement opened. The door had for the last year and a half started scraping against the floor and the scraping was loud enough to wake her up since she was a light sleeper even if the bedroom she shared with Dom was upstairs. She inwardly groaned as she was unable to get back to sleep because of the hot summer night. Carefully, she managed to slide out from the powerful grip Dom had on her body as she was spooned against him. She smiled as she looked down at the big log lying on the bed, clutching her pillow instead of her. She loved the man lying before her. She had loved him since the moment she first laid her eyes on him. He had hurt her over and over, but she had stuck with him always knowing that he'd come back to her some day, even if it would take years and years. With a last glance at her lover she quietly tip-toed through the door and downstairs.

As she walked towards the kitchen, she sensed the presence of another person. She looked through the doorway and saw Jesse asleep by the kitchen table. She had to stifle a laugh as she saw the young man in front of her. He had been the 'baby' of the Team, the family, ever since he had shown up together with Leon. His ADD had made him a treasured member of the Team and his personality was nothing more than another quirk added to the family. He was the brother she never had but always wanted, even if he was the complete opposite of herself.

Vince hadn't been able to sleep at all since they all went off to bed. His thoughts continuously drifted towards the girl that they had brought home with them. What was to happen to her? Who was she? He had seen something in her eyes as he met them; there was a void, almost a rural void that couldn't be explained. It was as if a chunk of her had been torn out and devoured by darkness, and it actually frightened him. He had problems understanding himself because it was the first time that he was frightened except for the time when he was hanging off the side of the truck and his arm was wrapped and nearly ripped off because of the wire. But at that time, he hadn't been frightened because he could die. He had been frightened because of what would happen to the rest of the Team. What would happen if he had died and the police had shown up? They would have linked him to the Team and then hauled them in as well.

Silently, he did blame Dom for all that was going on, but he understood what was going through Dom's mind at the time. They were running short on cash and the races didn't pay as much as they used to do. Sure, there could have been something other than hijacking trucks for money, but they would work as a Team. Dom had asked all of them if they were up to it, and none of them had argued against it except for Mia. But in the end, Dom got things his way but the last hijack went wrong. For the first time, Vince had been afraid, frightened, and he had wished that that feeling should never appear in his life again. But because of the girl, it had. He didn't fear for himself, he feared for the girl. The girl seemed lost, and in his opinion, even if he did appear to be an asshole most of the time, it wasn't right for anyone to be lost.

Mia hadn't been able to fall asleep either. Her thoughts continued to drift to the girl. The minute she had walked past the café for the first time, Mia knew that there had been something wrong. She had immediately felt her mother hen instinct kick in and she wanted to reach to the girl and find out what was wrong. What had prevented her from doing so, was Dom. How would he have reacted if she had decided to take the girl in? How would he have reacted if she had brought another person into the family? She had no idea how he would react. He most certainly wouldn't like the idea. Bringing strangers into the house never was a good thing. He tried once, with Brian, but Brian was all lies. But the girl wasn't a cop, she couldn't be.

Dom had been sitting on the back porch for almost an hour after Mia and Vince had briefed him and the rest of the Team about the girl they brought home. He had questioned himself if it was the right thing to do. What would happen when the girl woke up? She wasn't stable, and stability was something the Team needed. Would the girl's presence cause problems? Would she accuse them of making her do something against her will and go to the cops? If she did, it would be the end of the Team, the end of the family. The police were still haunting them because of the heists, but there weren't any proof. Brian had personally made sure that everything that led to connecting the Team to the heists was lost. But with enough digging the cops would find proof of the actions that led to several close call accidents on the highway.

Secretly he also wished that Brian would show up at their doorstep. Mia was breaking apart. But if the girl's presence could stabilize Mia's breakdown, then letting the girl stay, and end up being thrown in jail would be worth it. He knew that he hadn't been fair to Mia; he hadn't let her in on all the details even if she was his sister. And there was nothing he regretted more than not confiding in her. He never wanted this life for her. He wanted her to get her own life, not stay home and make sure there was food on the table when the guys and himself got home from work. She had started studying again, but she didn't put her back into it. It was like she was numb to everything that had anything to do with school. Maybe the girl would make her change her mind or at least revive the spark that once filled her.

Leon wasn't sure what to think about the whole deal with the newly arrived girl. He had noticed Mia's interest in the girl by the way she used to start talking about her at the café when they came by for lunch, but he hadn't paid any attention to her before Mia told the Team about why the girl was there. He hadn't seen the girl before, and he guessed he'd have to wait for the morning to come until he would see her. From what Mia had told them, it sounded as if the girl had been in trouble or something of the sort and he, like Dom, didn't want to bring anyone who'd ruin their lives into the family. But why take the skin before the bear was shot? Why not wait and see what would happen.

He had never been the person to settle down. But when he arrived at the doorstep along with Jesse, he had found a place he dared to call home. He found the family he never really had. He owed Dom and Mia his life for without them he wouldn't be alive. He never finished school, and he had been without work for almost two years when he had showed up on the doorstep. Dom and Mia had let him in straight away. And because of that, he was willing to see what would happen when the girl woke up the morning after.

The night was long for everyone trying to sleep in the huge white house. Jesse fell asleep at the kitchen table, Letty on the couch in the living room while the rest of the Team and Miranda were fast asleep in their beds.

To everyone's annoyance but Miranda's, the morning came too soon. Mia, like always, was the first to wake up. She prepared breakfast for the rest of them before grabbing the girl's clothes from the dryer. She had taken the liberty of cleaning the clothes the night before so that the girl would have something to wear when she woke up.

Mia made her way upstairs and knocked on the door before entering the room where Miranda had been placed. Miranda opened her eyes as Mia walked in.

"Who the fuck are you?" Miranda asked as she sat up in bed and stared at the dark haired girl holding her clothes.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own anything from the movies.

Thank you for commenting.

* * *

><p>Miranda stared at Mia as the dark-haired girl walked in.<p>

"I'm Mia Toretto," Mia answered as she took a step closer to the bed.

"Why do you have my clothes? Where am I?" Miranda rose from the bed and noticed she was wearing nothing but a shirt and underwear. "WHERE THE HELL AM I?" she yelled and grabbed her clothes and pulled her pants on.

"You were pretty out of it last night," Mia started as she placed the rest of Miranda's clothes on the bed.

"That doesn't give you any right to take me here!" Miranda hissed as she turned around and grabbed her tank top and sweater after pulling the shirt off. She tugged the tank top over her head and the sweater soon followed. Mia directed her eyes to the wall as the girl in front of her put her clothes on.

"We couldn't leave you at the beach! You would have died!" Mia raged back as she inwardly battled with herself about having done the right thing and at the same time trying to control her anger that was rapidly rising.

"Maybe that's what I wanted!" Miranda hissed back and pushed past Mia and through the door, looked around and found the stairs that led down to the first floor. She made her way over to the front door and opened it but as she was about to leave she heard someone appear behind her.

"Are you leaving?" she heard a kind of pathetic and scrawny voice ask.

"Yeah, I am," she answered without turning around.

"So you're not staying for breakfast?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

"Look, kid…" she turned around and looked at the scrawny character that was standing behind her. "I have no fucking idea how the hell I ended up here, all I know is that I didn't say yes to being brought here," she raised her voice slightly but as she stopped talking she instantly felt sorry for the young man that was standing in front of her. Had she really called him a kid? He seemed to be older than her, yet she called him kid. She sighed and rubbed her arm through the bandages that had been applied.

As an uncomfortable silence fell between the two of them, Jesse took his time to study the girl. In his eyes, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her, other than the fact that she looked dead tired and then there was the fact that she had tried to kill herself. He had to smile to himself as he looked at her. She looked just as lost as Leon had when Leon came to him about a year before they moved in with the Toretto's. Jesse continued to stare at the girl standing in front of him as his thoughts started to drift off like they normally did because of his ADD. Leon had changed so much during the time Jesse had known him…

Miranda stared at the kid in disbelief. Clearly the guy wasn't right in the head. She shrugged and waved her hand in front of his eyes to bring him back to reality. He shook his head slightly as to clear his head.

"Kid… I'm leaving, whether you want me to or not. Your… friends… brought me here against my will, and I'm not willing to stay here," she explained before she turned to leave. This time she managed to get as far as down the stairs to the front porch.

"Can I at least know your name?" the sound of the kid's voice stopped her and she turned halfway around to look at him. She smiled lightly and it was as if she looked at him for the first time, but though another pair of eyes.

"Mirada," she answered with a crooked smile before she left.

"Where did the girl disappear to?" Vince asked Mia as she entered the kitchen and sat down by the table to eat breakfast.

"She left," she answered as she picked the scrambled eggs with her fork.

"WHAT?" he yelled, but quickly calmed down by the glare Dom sent him. "What do you mean by she left?" Vince repeated himself as he rose from his seat.

"She left. We brought her here against her will and she didn't want to stay here. What was I supposed to do? Keep her here against her will?" she tossed back at him.

"Please tell me you at least asked her for her name so that we can call the police or her parents!" he hissed.

"She didn't stick around long enough for me to ask her!" she yelled back and ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs where she slammed the door to her bedroom.

Vince groaned and sat back down.

"Her name's Miranda," Jesse suddenly said between mouthfuls of cereal as if it wasn't a big deal. He was content in his own world filled with cereal goodness.

Everyone turned to look at him as if he had sprouted another head. How did he know her name?

Miranda walked down the street away from the house; away from the people who kept her alive; away from the ones who wouldn't let her die but somehow, she was glad. They had given her a second chance but not that it would do her any good. She was still the same person she always had been and that was the problem. She didn't want to be herself; she wanted to be someone else. She smiled to herself at the thought of the young man she had shared her name with. There had been something that shone in his eyes. It had been something that she hadn't seen in a long time. He didn't judge her and that made her feel warm inside. She had given him her name and that seemed to be enough for him.

Miranda couldn't help figure out where she was going to go and she was starving. She couldn't go home and she did not have any money. She sighed to herself and turned around and walked back to the big white house she had left in a hurry and all she dared to hope for was that the offer for breakfast still was valid. She walked up to the house and knocked on the door silently, almost scared to let the residents know that she was back but apparently the soft knocks on the door was enough.

The big brute, which she had been able to figure out was named Vince, opened the door and looked down at her. He smiled briefly before motioning for her to wait before he disappeared back into the house only to return with a brown paper bag and a bottle of water. He motioned for her to follow and he lead her to the back of the house where a table had been set up and it was obvious that they liked to eat and cook outside from time to time. He motioned for her to sit and she did, too tired and too hungry to argue. He placed the bag in front of her and put the bottle of water there too and motioned for her to eat without uttering a single word. She glanced over at him and offered him a small smile and uttered a tiny, barely audible 'thank you' before digging into the sandwiches in the bag. Food had never tasted better.


End file.
